Neil Hopcroft

What is your most treasured memory?
Not sure.

Have you ever hated anyone? If so, why, and for how long?
For years, for threatening to kill me. Still do, really, but dont want to talk about it and its not so painful now.

Would you rather be given £10,000 for your own use or £100,000 to give anonymously to strangers? What if you could keep £1,000,000 or give away £20,000,000?
Keep the money myself…but that would probably not hold if the strangers were identified and (minimally) profiled, ie that I was happy the money wasn’t going to bad people.

If you knew there would be a nuclear war in one week, what would you do?
Fly back to England and hug everyone I know.

Would you accept twenty years of extraordinary happiness and fulfilment if it meant you would die at the end of that period?
No. Happiness can only be appreciated in conjunction with sadness.

What is the greatest accomplishment of your life? Is there anything you hope to do that is even better?
Getting to where I am now. (by which I mean careerwise, not sitting in a small flat in Tokyo)

Would it disturb you if, upon your death, your body was simply thrown into the woods and left to rot? Why?
No.

Which would you prefer: A wild turbulent life filled with joy, sorrow, passion, and adventure; intoxicating successes and stunning setbacks; or a happy, secure, predictable life surrounded by friends and family without such wide swings of fortune and mood?
Gimme risk!

Are there people you envy enough to want to trade lives with them? Who are they?
No.

For an all-expenses-paid, one week vacation anywhere in the world, would you be willing to kill a beautiful butterfly by pulling its wings off? What abut stepping on a cockroach?
I would have to think deeply about it. I probably would, but it wouldn’t be an easy choice.

Would you be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end hunger in the world?
(another hypothetical) Yes.

If God appeared to you in a series of vivid and moving dreams and told you to leave everything behind, travel alone to the Red Sea and become a fisherman, what would you do? What if you were told to sacrifice your child?
I would have to get some reasonable (and nonrefutable) demonstration of identity first, if that were forthcoming I’d do whatever (s)he asked.

It seems the marvelousmrchip is being a bit quiet…we should prod him.

And the verdict on the shoulder is that its something like tendonitis, which is one of those spirally things which gets worse and worse ‘cos your shoulder hurts so you don’t use it, so it hardens up a bit more so it hurts more when you do use it so you don’t use it…spiral of doom until you just can’t get up in the morning. The doctor was quite surprised I’d gone to him quite so early, normally its a few more weeks (or he might just have been trying to make me feel better). So, he gave me an injection to reduce the swelling a bit and has given me some pills which should help more. And in the meantime I’ve got to wander round looking like a wally waving my arm around whenever I get a chance. Its kinda getting better but he said it might need another shot next week…havta see how it goes.

And tomorrow I get to find out about the health system over here – I’ve done something odd to my shoulder and it doesn’t move properly any more – wish me luck!

More views from the east

Blame sushidog and the fact I’ve got time on my hands for this…

Yuo have the chance to meet someone with whom you can have the most satisfying love imaginable; the stuff of dreams! Sadly, you know that in six months, the person will die. Knowing the pain that would follow, would you still want to meet the person and fall in love? What if you knew your lover would not die, but instead would betray you?
Would they die whether I got involved or not? If they’re going to die anyway, probably yes, if my meeting them would cause their death, I’d rather not. I would not enter a relationship where betrayal was a possibility.

If you knew of a way to use your estate, following your death, to greatly benefit humanity, would you do it and leave a minimal amount to your family?
Yes.

Do you prefer being around men or women? Do your closest friends tend to be men or women?
Both, depends on the people. Closest friends are roughly equally split.

If you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone you chose, would you?
No. There are times I would have done though.

While on a trip to another city, your spouse (or lover) meets and spends a night with an exciting stranger. Given that they will never meet again, and that you will not otherwise learn of the incident, would you want your partner to tell you about it? If the roles were reversed, would you reveal what you had done?
I would like to think it wouldn’t happen.

Have you had satisfying sex within the last three months?
No.

A walk

This is rock and roll…
(with thanks to hirez for bringing it to my attention)

btw, anyone got any suggestions for music that sounds like The Ruts “Jah war” or The Specials “Ghost town”? I’ve been listening to my Culture Shock and Citizen Fish selection but haven’t got the vinyl rips out here yet so I’m hitting the repetition limit.